stripling

/ˈstɹɪplɪŋ/

//ˈstɹɪplɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stripling" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stripling” is uncommon English (frequency #89,950 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,950
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A young man in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. .

Corpus desk

Index EN-stripling · stripling · English

stripling · rank #89,950 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,950
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH subcortical

Nearest frequency peer: subcortical (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “stripling”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “stripling” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stripling
PropertyValue
Headwordstripling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstɹɪplɪŋ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#89,950
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stripling” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).striplingfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “subcortical” (#89,952), “sternal” (#89,947), “suborder” (#89,953). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stripling” is #89,950. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stripling is uncommon English at frequency #89,950 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈstɹɪplɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

stripling has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English stripling (“an adolescent, a youth (specifically one who is male); a child”) [and other forms], possibly from strepen (“to remove the clothes of, undress, strip; to peel off; to skin (an animal); to remove; to take something away from so… The correct English form is stripling, spelled S-T-R-I-P-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A young man in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. .
  2. 2
    A seedling with most of the leaves stripped off.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stripling appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And the king ſaid, Enquire thou whoſe ſonne the ſtripling is.
  2. And now, I suppose, my Striplings are formally clad, and togated, newly arrived at the Vniversities

Etymology

From Middle English stripling (“an adolescent, a youth (specifically one who is male); a child”) [and other forms], possibly from strepen (“to remove the clothes of, undress, strip; to peel off; to skin (an animal); to remove; to take something away from someone; to plunder, rob”) (connoting something that is stripped and thin, and yet to reach its full size) + -ling (suffix forming diminutives). Strepen is derived from Old English *strēpan (Anglian), *strīepan, *strīpan, *strȳpan (West Saxon), from Proto-West Germanic *straupijan, from Proto-Germanic *straupijaną (“to strip; to pluck; to wipe”), from *streupaną (“to touch”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strew-, *sterw-, *ster- (“a strip; a streak; a beam, ray”)) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives from strong verbs with the sense of ‘to cause to do’). The English word is analysable as strip (“long, narrow piece”) + -ling.

This word in other languages

jouvenceau(Français)Jüngling(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stripling"?
"stripling" is spelled S-T-R-I-P-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstɹɪplɪŋ/.
What does "stripling" mean?
As a noun, "stripling" means: A young man in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. .
How do you pronounce "stripling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stripling" is /ˈstɹɪplɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stripling"?
From Middle English stripling (“an adolescent, a youth (specifically one who is male); a child”) [and other forms], possibly from strepen (“to remove the clothes of, undress, strip; to peel off; to skin (an animal); to remove; to take something aw... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stripling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sucralose#89,957Soleimani#89,922Theotokos#89,990tricuspid#90,007

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list